Plant-based meat manufacturers may be able to stem sliding sales and volumes by tweaking marketing to more prominently highlight health benefits – attributes that often take a backseat to taste, but which research from the Good Food Institute suggests could drive higher spend in the segment.
“A fundamental barrier” to plant-based meat consumption is taste and price, but beyond those “consumers still need a compelling reason to make a different choice, and for many we know that health is, or can be, that reason,” said GFI Associate Director of Market Insights Jody Kirchner.
Pointing to consumer research conducted by GFI, she explained that consumers who consider health the most important consideration when deciding what to eat spend notably more on healthy foods than those who do consider health a top priority. This includes fruits, vegetables and beans, as well as plant-based meat – suggesting they see it as a healthy food as well. Likewise, consumers who said they think plant-based meat is healthy spend more on it than those who disagree or are unsure.
“That raises the question, of course, what are consumers actually looking for when they think about health. And where does plant-based meat have opportunities to improve those perceptions,” Kirchner added.
Prioritize protein
Unsurprisingly, protein is a top priority that consumers will pay more for when selecting meat, but only about half of plant-based meat buyers actually think the products are high in protein.
Similarly, “about half of all consumers still think conventional meat outperforms plant-based meat on protein,” even though plant-based meat products frequently have a comparable amount of the macronutrient compared to the animal-based products they replace, Kirchner said.
To close the gap between consumer perceptions and actual performance, she recommends plant-based meat manufacturers call out more clearly on pack the protein per serving.
“It is really quantity of protein that tends to rise to the top in terms of what consumers are most concerned about,” rather than the quality of the protein, she added.
Fiber for the win?
Calling out the amount of fiber in plant-based meat may be another missed opportunity for marketers, Kirchner said.
She noted that nearly two-thirds of US consumers are trying to consume more fiber, making it the second most sought nutrient after protein. Likewise, digestive health, which his highly associated with fiber, the third most important health benefit consumers consider when choosing foods. Weight management and heart health are the top two respectively, according to data presented by Krichner.
“However,” she added, “when we focus in on consumer choices in relation to meat, it may not be a surprise that fiber is not a consideration for many consumers. They are just not used to thinking about fiber in the context of meat. So, they may need to be made aware that there is the potential to get fiber in a meat product.”
Calling out fiber in combination with protein in plant-based meat could give it a competitive edge over animal sources for health-conscious shoppers, she added.
“The combination of protein plus fiber actually makes plant-based meat pretty uniquely positioned to meet consumers’ top nutrient priorities in one package,” she explained.
Are heart health claims a missed opportunity?
Enhancing heart health messaging, such as low in saturated fat or low cholesterol, could also boost plant-based meat’s appeal to health-conscious consumers who increasingly worry about the impact of their diet on their heart health.
About half of plant-based consumers in GFI’s research noted heart health was a top benefit they consider when choosing food, and data from the International Food Information Council shows 45% of US consumers are trying to limit or avoid saturated fat, which can negatively impact heart health.
Cholesterol, high amounts of which can compromise heart health, is another nutrient consumers often say they avoid, Krichner added.
GFI research shows that consumers who perceive plant-based meat as having lower saturated fat are associated with higher spend, but a whopping two-thirds of plant-based meat consumers don’t perceive the products as doing “very well” on being low in saturated fat, she said.
“So again, there seems to be an opportunity here for enhanced messaging” around heart health and plant-based meat, she said.
Category pioneer Beyond Meat leaned into this opportunity when it debuted Beyond IV in the spring of 2024 and went the extra mile to qualify the new iteration, along with its Beyond Crumbles and Beyond Steak, for the American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association Heart-Check program.
‘No antibiotics or hormones’ claims are an inherent, untapped opportunity
More consumers are concerned about avoiding hormones and antibiotics in meat than they are about high protein – opening the door for plant-based products to make powerful free-from claims.
According to GFI research, 58% of plant-based meat buyers say no hormones or antibiotics is a “very important” health attribute they consider when choosing meat. In addition, awareness of the attribute is associated with above average spend on plant-based beef, according to the non-profit.
This combination suggests “leveraging this inherent benefit of plant-based meat in an opportunity,” GFI stresses.
Optimize ingredient lists
Mounting concerns about ultra-processed foods and clean labels could be a threat to some plant-based meats, but the products appear to get a pass for the most part, according to GFI research.
Even though plant-based meats are often associated with long ingredient lists and considered ‘processed’ compared to ‘natural’ animal protein, Krichner said GFI found plant-based-meat buyers who say they avoid processed foods actually spend about the same amount on plant-based meat as those who do not avoid processed foods.
Likewise, GFI found only a “small portion” consumers who are not buying plant-based meat said processing was a factor in their decision.
Still, GFI found consumer perceptions about ingredients do impact food purchasing behavior. For example, consumers who look for shorter ingredient lists spend less than average on plant-based meat, with 10 ingredients being a notable cut-off point.
It also found consumers are more concerned with ingredients such as methycellulose, vegetable oil, salt, cultured dextrose and modified food starch, Kricher said. Ingredients in plant-based meat that consumers viewed positively including pea protein, avocado oil, natural flavors, brown rice protein, red lentil protein, soy protein, tofu and sunflower and coconut oils.
Based on these insights, Krichner recommends plant-based meat manufacturers shorten and optimize ingredient lists and explain how their products are made – even at a basic level – to help drive initial trial by consumers who are hesitant to shop the segment.
“Sodium content is another potential area for evaluation,” she added. “It is something that we see is top of mind for many consumers, and some do say it is a barrier to them considering or consuming more plant-based meat today.”
While health is important to plant-based meat shoppers, it doesn’t trump taste, which is why Krichner stressed any reformulation or ingredient messaging must be balanced with the potential or perceived tradeoff with taste.
